


(breakfast) can wait

by geekintheblack



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/M, as always i have no clue where this came from, no betas we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 13:44:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13660218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geekintheblack/pseuds/geekintheblack
Summary: Kara, James, and a morning at 'home'.





	(breakfast) can wait

**Author's Note:**

> Mistakes are mine, characters are not, this isn’t my first language, yadda yadda

He has this whole ritual for mornings, and it surprises her the first time she spends the night.

James has always been an easygoing guy in many ways. At work, he always seems confident that everything will work out in the end, and thus remains calm, relaxed even, regardless of deadlines and pressure from higher-ups. Their dates consist of spontaneous, whatever-we-feel-like activities and whatever-is-on movie nights. He even has a history of impulse-buying overpriced camera gear and gadgets, which she finds both amusing and a bit concerning (how many lenses can one person really need?).

At the end of the day, James Olsen is not much of a creature of habit, or structured days, or even planned out trips and adventures.

She wouldn’t know it, though, from the way he methodically folds his sheets and fluffs his pillow, irons his shirt of the day in the time it takes for coffee to be ready, and turns on the radio on the kitchen counter exactly as NCR’s morning news begin, not even taking his eyes off his pancakes as he does so.

Kara watches with fascination. Earlier, he’d gotten up and showered faster than she’d managed to find her overnight bag (it had ended up beside the living room centerpiece, somehow). He’s a blur of movement around the apartment, and for a split second she wonders about his status as 100% human. It’s an entirely new thing, how focused he looks. She’s only seen him like this during a big budget photoshoot last month, and that was because he’d promised Cat a spread worthy of the magazine’s 100th edition.

Already changed and freshened up, she sits by the countertop and plays with the hem of her shirt absent-mindedly as she watches him work. She barely contains her squeal of excitement at the plate of smiley pancakes he places in front of her, immediately leaning up to give him a grateful peck on the lips. There are, in fact, several shortcuts to Kara Danvers’ heart, and James seems to have them all figured out.

“Chocolate chip and strawberry pancakes for the pretty lady, coming right up,” he says, tossing a dish towel over his shoulder and smiling so dazzlingly she almost forgets about her earlier confusion.

There’s a clinking of shuffling cutlery as the forecast for the day is delivered by a cheerful sounding woman on the radio. It’s only when he brings his own plate and sits beside her that she broaches the subject.

“So,” she begins casually, “pretty smooth operation you run here.”

He stares at her for a moment. “What do you mean?”

“I just never pegged you for a morning ritual kinda person. Or a ritual of any kind, kind of person.”

“Ah, that. It’s not really a ritual, well…” he wipes his mouth with a napkin and takes a sip of coffee before continuing, “That’s just how it was back home, with my mom.”

“Yeah?” she asks softly, not wanting to interrupt his train of thought. She loves it when he talks about his family.

“Yeah, see, I’d get up and shower first, but I had to be fast, right? Because she had to get to work pretty early. Then I’d start the coffee and iron her uniform shirt while she took her own shower, and she’d come and make us pancakes and fix my lunchbag while I packed my stuff for school. We had breakfast together while listening to the morning news, even though I always wanted to turn on the tv on the living room so I could listen to some cartoons.” He chuckled. “She always said ‘Boy, you’ll thank me one day when you grow up and see the people your age going on about their days, all clueless about what’s happening around them’, and I guess she was right.”

“She sounds like a smart woman.”

“She’s pretty remarkable, yeah. I missed her a lot when I moved out for college, and obviously some of the steps had to be adapted, but this whole routine just feels like home in a way.”

“I get it,” she says, and she does.

Sometimes she’ll wake up earlier than necessary and kneel on the center of the bed with her eyes closed. She can’t bring herself to say the words, but she pretends her mom is beside her, holding her right hand and squeezing it softly as they recite the morning prayers. Sometimes she’ll turn the tv on and put on a foreign channel whose morning news anchor sounds strikingly like her dad, and she’ll pretend it’s him pacing around practicing a language he needs to learn before his next travel. She’s done it so often she’s almost learning whatever language that is.

James must sense her mind going a bit too far away from this cozy apartment, because the next thing she knows is that he’s kissing her softly, running his hand through her hair and gripping her waist lightly. The morning news are done and some top 40 song is playing, and Kara’s overnight bag is once again kicked out of the way as they stumble back to the bedroom.

He tastes like coffee, and maple syrup, and this is home too, she thinks, because it feels just as safe, just as right.

Their half eaten pancakes go cold, and his shirt ends up needing to be ironed again, but overall it’s a good morning. A great one, and she hopes with all her heart to have many more like it with him, always with him.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I’ve been exercising my writing a bit, trying to make it feel a little more organic, and less like I’m writing an email to my boss’ boss. Not sure I succeeded but ehh. Any feedback on that would be highly appreciated!
> 
> As always, thank you so much to anyone who took the time to read my fresh pile of garbage, hope you somehow enjoyed it!


End file.
